Discover how our mission to bring easy café-quality iced coffee home sparked an innovation projected to generate over 100 million Swiss francs in global annual sales over the coming years.
Cold coffee isn’t just a passing trend. It's a cultural phenomenon – and one that Nescafé is elevating in-home.
Ever since the first cup of coffee was brewed back in 15th century Yemen, it’s mainly been enjoyed hot. But for today’s consumers, especially among Gen Z and millennials, cold coffee is hotter than ever – making up one in every three cups consumed out-of-home.
If you have spent any time in a coffee shop (or scrolling your social feed) you know cold coffee isn’t just a passing phase. It’s the go-to choice for a new generation of coffee drinkers who received their 'coffee education' in cafés – watching baristas turn espresso into art through endless drink combinations. Consumers picked up a love for cold and customisation and now they want to perfect how to make iced coffee at home.
That’s where Nescafé Espresso Concentrate comes in.
Create and enjoy a summery Espresso Lemonade by mixing 30ml of Nescafé Espresso Concentrate with 150ml of sparkling lemonade. Enjoy over ice!
Fuelling the iced coffee craze
The idea was born at the Nestlé Coffee R+D Accelerator, a global innovation programme where entrepreneurs, scientists and coffee lovers unite to turn bold ideas into real products. At the time we had one big question: 'What if we reinvent coffee mixes and café-style beverages?'
As the innovation coach on this project, I had a front-row seat in those early brainstorming sessions, from the initial prototypes to consumer tests. Our goal was to make it easy to create and enjoy premium iced coffee drinks at home. Like most ambitious R&D projects, ours came with challenges: balancing taste, convenience, and shelf stability – all while ensuring our solution would be scalable later on. However, what made this journey so special was the constant feedback from consumers. We listened. We tweaked. We tested. And eventually, we landed on something that clicked.
What sets Nescafé Espresso Concentrate apart is its versatility. You don't need any special equipment: you just measure out and pour one shot, then add a spark of creativity to customise your refreshing beverage. With this innovation, consumers can conveniently recreate their favourite iced coffees at home for less than it costs in the coffee shop.
Meeting younger consumers where they are
We want to turn 18 to 24-year-olds into coffee concentrate enthusiasts with a product that fits their lifestyle, and messaging that feels authentic to them. It means showing up in the right places, with the right voices: online, in their feeds, through creators they trust and engage with daily.
Enter Zach King, Nescafé’s first-ever global influencer. Zach’s creativity isn't just entertaining – it’s captivating. His magical storytelling connects deeply with Gen Z, going beyond just driving views: he is helping us build genuine affinity. That’s the kind of impact we're after.
This partnership perfectly embodies our 'hack your iced coffee' motto, and just like Zach hacks stories in his own unique style, we’re inviting younger consumers to customise coffee their way. It's all about personalisation, creativity and a little bit of coffee magic.
Scaling up our big bet
Nescafé Espresso Concentrate is a key part of Nestlé’s 'big bet' strategy. It is a product that embodies our commitment to innovation and our love for coffee. And we have high ambitions – namely that this innovation could generate over 100 million Swiss francs in annual sales over the coming years.
Nescafé is the first global player to offer a product like this. From Australia and the USA to the UK, Singapore, China and Japan, the response has already been positive and encouraging. The whole team is excited to see it expand across Asia, Latin America and Europe soon.
As I look back, watching this idea grow from our early testing to something people are actually using (and loving) across the globe has been incredibly rewarding. That’s the heart of innovation: when something you helped build with intentionality connects with people and makes a difference. And now, hearing feedback from consumers, and seeing their iced coffee creations, it's clear we got it right.
